Where We Belong
by Ryft Darkpaw
Summary: This is a story of two young dragons who have yet to discover the love between them. The earth dragon Ferrous has eyes only for the ice dragoness Emmaire, but she won't even say "hello." a small change in heart is all it takes...
1. Chapter 1

***disclaimer* I don't own anything pertaining to Spyro and most likely never will.**

**A/N: I have broken off from updating Rise of a Legend to write this, it's 3:30 in the morning and I've hit another wall in my train of plot. My thoughts have wandered so now I shall tell you of two young dragons who have come to reside at the temple. It is a heartwarming tale of romance and discovery, as these two youngsters carve out their place among the other students.**

A fireball roared past the silvery dragon as he leapt nimbly aside, launching his own earth bomb at the orange dragon opposite him. Without waiting to see whether his attack connected, the silver dragon sped forward at his opponent with the single intention of ending the fight then and there. With a smirk on his face, the orange dragon jumped into the air above the attack and launched a veritable firestorm down upon the dragon below. Diving through the flames, the orange dragon knocked his adversary onto his back with a swipe from his tail and placed a paw on his opponent's chest to signal victory. Panting slightly from the effort of the battle, he reached down with the same paw to help his opponent back to his feet.

"Whew, you're definitely getting better, Ferrous. Pretty soon you're gonna be able to beat me, maybe even Wolfe!" The orange dragon beamed at the earth elemental with pride. "I'm glad I get to teach you a bit; it's fun!"

Ferrous lowered his green eyes away from the orange dragon's. "Well thanks, Flame, but I don't think I'm that good…"

Flame, shook his head vigorously. "Nonsense! You'll have Wolfe on his toes, struggling to best you in no time."

"Are you sure about that Flame?" The voice of the black dragon rang from beside them and they turned their heads to view the larger Wolfe stride confidently into the training area. "I mean, I do have an unfair advantage over him, being two years older and all." He looked at Ferrous with a smile on his face. "But that was a good fight. There's no doubt that you're improving, maybe I could get Star to teach you a few things about strategy. She'd have a field day with you."

There was a shuffle of movement from behind Ferrous and he turned to see a white and blue dragoness walk into the room, only to look up in shock when she saw who was there. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't know anyone was here…I'll leave." She stammered softly. She turned and rushed out of the room.

Ferrous called out, "Wait, Emmaire, don't go. I…" He stopped when he saw that she didn't hear him. He slammed a fist down on the ground. "Damn! I can never get her attention. She always leaves before I can even introduce myself."

Wolfe frowned at the earth dragon. "Hey man, it's not just you. She ignores everyone except Master Cyril, and even he gets the silent treatment sometimes. She's shy, not much you can do about it."

"I know, but I can't help thinking that I could help her. I'm not gonna lie, I like her a lot. But I don't think she even knows I exist!" Ferrous growled in irritation.

Flame placed a paw on his shoulder. "Come on, bro, lighten up. I know how you feel, I felt the same way about Ember."

Ferrous nodded. "Yeah, you've told me before, and I'm happy that you two found each other, but I still don't know how I'm going to get to know her if whenever I get near her, she avoids any kind of conversation." He sighed and walked off to an exit, heading for his room. "I need some time to think."

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Emmaire walked from the training room to the garden, making her way to her very favorite spot to relax. As she approached the lake, she focused her ice powers at her paws, allowing her to walk across the mirror-like surface of the water on small patches of ice. She walked out to the center of the lake and lay down on top of her little frozen island. Letting out a sigh, she listened to the gentle sound of the water lapping against the shore. She began to hum a soft tune from her days of infancy and manipulated the water in front of her to match the rhythm of the song. Oh, how she enjoyed spending her time on the lake. It calmed her very essence and left her feeling cheerful every time she came here. She crossed her forelegs and rested her head on them. The soothing noise of the garden slowly lulled her into a peaceful trance-like state. She was so caught up in her thoughts, she didn't notice the ice guardian walk up beside her.

"Greetings, young one," said Cyril.

His words startled the dragoness, making her jump slightly and almost fall off her ice platform. "Oh, Master Cyril…I didn't see you there. Can I do something for you?"

He smiled warmly down on her. "No, I just wanted to check in on you. You don't seem to socialize very often. Why is that?"

She blushed and dropped her gaze. "I-I don't know. I like to be alone, I guess…nobody really likes me anyway…"

Cyril snorted. "Rubbish. That's completely false, my dear." He nudged her gently with his wing and motioned towards the door, where a downcast Ferrous was trudging by on his way to his room. "I know of one dragon who would benefit greatly from a simple introduction from you."

Emmaire looked at the silvery dragon and slowly took a step forward. She caught up with him just before he opened the door to his bedroom and cleared her throat to get his attention. As he turned around with a shocked expression, she spoke in her usual quiet voice. "Hi there, I'm Emmaire. What's your name?"

A smile spread across his lips and he replied, "My name is Ferrous. It's nice to meet you Emmaire." His voice was calm and soothing to her and she blushed, not finding the words to say in front of this silver dragon. Finally, she managed, "I'm sorry, I have to go….it was nice meeting you." She turned and ran down the hallway, confusion at her own actions frantically traipsing throughout her mind.

Her thoughts wild, she fled down the hall towards the library, hoping to find comfort in the books within. She stepped through the doorway and almost collided with a golden dragoness walking out. Emmaire looked up into Star's eyes and smiled. "Oh, hi Star. Excuse me." She stepped around her part time teacher and walked forward to the bookshelves. Before she got too far, Star called out to her. "Emmaire, what's going on? You seem stressed."

Emmaire spun around and snapped back, "I'm fine, leave me alone!"

Star recoiled at the retort and walked out the door, mumbling to herself.

Emmaire also took a step back, surprised by her own reaction. _What's wrong with me?_ She turned back to the shelves and perused the selection of literature that lined them. _Why am I feeling like this? _She walked down to her favorite section of books and grabbed one with a blue and white cover. It was a romance novel about a fire dragoness trying to win the heart of a dashing lightning dragon. She had started this book the day before and was deeply fascinated by the romantic story. She took the book to a well lit corner and lay down with it open in front of her. She tried to concentrate on the pages before her but found that her thoughts continued to turn to the earth dragon she had met the earlier in the day. She growled at herself, trying to shake the picture of the silver dragon out of her head. _What's so special about him? Why can't I get my mind off of him?_ She sighed and tried again to lose herself in the story before her. As she found herself distracted by thoughts of the earth dragon, a lone thought penetrated to the fore of her mind. _Am I in love?_

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Ferrous happily strode down the hall towards the gardens. He was in a particularly good mood now, after having the dragoness of his dreams talk to him for the first time. He walked into the gardens and made his way to the tallest tree standing in the lake. He flew to the lowest branch and flopped down on his back against the trunk. Feeling particularly exuberant, he began to speak, a poem leaping to his tongue as he relaxed.

"It's times like these that make you what you are in the end  
It's times like these that make or break who you really are  
Though you may struggle, though you may despair  
Freedom is not what you truly seek

For all the pain you endured, when you wish it all would change  
It's times like these when you see how to cure it  
That horrible disease, that terrible affliction  
For everything you've tried thus far has failed

It's times like these that make it all seem worthwhile  
Every frightening moment, each day you feared  
Every ounce of strife merely makes you smile  
They all simply fade, and you move on....

It's times like these..."

He let the last words trail off and a smile broke across his features. From below him, he sensed through his earth powers that someone was approaching and he looked down to see Ember walking towards him. "Well hi Ember. How are you doing today?"

She grinned up at him. "I'm great, thank you. You seem pretty upbeat today. Something good happen?"

His smile grew. "Indeed. Emmaire talked to me today. For the first time, too!"

The pink dragoness shuffled her feet and folded her wings behind her. "That's great! Umm…have you seen Flame? I haven't seen him today and I heard that you two were sparring."

Ferrous shook his head. "No, sorry, can't help you. Haven't seen him since we fought. Try the dining hall; he said that he was hungry earlier."

"Thanks Ferrous." She turned and walked out of the lush garden.

The earth dragon settled down against the tree again and closed his eyes, succumbing to the calming effects of the plants around him.

He found himself running through the temple frantically, explosions lighting up the dark night outside the occasional window. _Where is she?! _His thoughts sped through his mind as fast as he dashed through the halls. Keeping his wings low to the ground, he urged his legs to go faster. He passed his room and turned into Emmaire's room three doors away. "Emmaire! Where are you?" he called out. She wasn't in her room, which disturbed him. He continued his flight and came across the inner courtyard of the temple and saw a terrifying creature holding Emmaire by her neck. He froze in sheer terror as the creature threw the ice dragoness's limp form behind it and roared.

"NO!" Ferrous shot bolt upright on the tree branch, sweat covering his body. He inhaled and tried to calm himself from the horrible nightmare. "It was only a dream, Ferrous. Relax, she's fine." He slowed his breathing and dropped from his perch. He noticed the sun falling below the horizon and sighed. "Guess I'll go for dinner. It's probably time anyway." He trudged down through the temple to the dining hall, grabbing a plate from one of the cheetah's who volunteered in the kitchens. After making his way to an empty table, he sat down in front of it and began to eat. Suddenly, another plate slid next to his and he heard a voice from beside him.

"Is this seat taken?" The white dragoness, Emmaire, came up beside him.

Surprised, he said, "No, no one's sitting there." He managed a sheepish grin as she sat next to him. He returned to his meal, glancing sideways at her every so often. When they both finished, she fixed her gaze on him and smiled.

"You want to go for a walk?" she asked.

He just about jumped out of his scales. "Of course! Where do you wanna go?"

She giggled. "Let's go to the lake, it's nice there."

They walked out of the dining area, leaving the noise of dinner behind them, and walked side by side to the serene body of water situated deep within the garden.

She stepped out onto the surface of the water and motioned for him to join her. He cautiously put a paw onto the lake and found that he was standing on a patch of rough ice. Emmaire walked out to the middle of the lake and Ferrous followed closely behind, still grinning like a madman. He sat beside her in the center of the body of water and sighed happily. He finally had some time alone with the dragon of his dreams._ Thank the Ancestors!_

**That's all I got, laters!**


	2. Chapter 2

***disclaimer* I do not own any characters related to spyro**

**A/N: Again, procrastinating can be a powerful muse…I continue this story in the T category for now… could change in the future... but here it is, enjoy!**

As they sat and watched the sunset, Ferrous tentatively draped a wing around Emmaire's shoulders. She shivered at the touch, but didn't shy away. She yawned and unconsciously leaned against the earth dragon's shoulder, bringing a subtle smile to his face. She sighed softly and closed her eyes. Lost in the beauty of the moment, Ferrous was inspired yet again and began to weave another poem from his thoughts.

"As the sun sets on this past day  
The colors fly free  
The sky becomes like a canvas  
For the world to see

As the sun sets and we all say goodbye  
Our lives are changed, our dreams come alive  
Though we can't just leave them, we must push on  
They won't become real unless we strive

As the sun sets, beauty is revealed  
For those who wish to view  
Reminding those who have forgotten  
It's always there for me and you"

Emmaire turned to look into the bright green eyes of Ferrous, awed by his sudden eloquence. "That was beautiful, Ferrous. Where did you hear that?"

He kept his smile and his eyes began to shine. "That was something I just came up with. You really liked it?"

She nodded. "Yeah. I never knew you were so good with words."

He turned his gaze back to the horizon "There's a lot of things about me you don't know," he mumbled under his breath.

The white dragoness yawned again. "Well, I hate to leave but I'm tired," she admitted.

Snapping back to himself, Ferrous offered. "Let me walk you to your room, I'm headed that way myself."

She giggled and let him place his wing back around her as they walked off the surface of the lake. They made their way out of the garden and into the winding corridors of the temple. They walked in silence; each keeping to their own thoughts.

_Tell her! Come on Ferrous, she's right here, you can do it! _The earth dragon's mind raced. _But then again, tonight was the first night we spent together, she could think that I was rushing things and reject me._ He battled against himself, trying to overcome his doubts to tell her how he truly felt. _There's no reward without risk. You have to do it! _ He opened his mouth to speak but quickly shut it again. _But what if she doesn't actually like me. I saw Cyril with her earlier. He could have told her to do this just to make me feel better._

Beside him, Emmaire was simply enjoying the feeling of his wing around her, the soft texture of it rubbing against her back. She wished that the walk would never end but all too soon they reached the door to her room.

Ferrous lifted his wing off her and folded it to his side. "Well, goodnight, Emmaire." He turned and padded over to his room three doors away.

"Goodnight, Ferrous," she said softly. Nudging open the wooden door, she entered the room and jumped straight onto the bed within. After pulling the thick blanket around her body, she stared out the window until her eyelids drooped and sleep over took her.

It didn't last. She twisted this way and that, suffering through one of the countless nightmares she endured over the past few nights. Her eyes shot open and she shivered as the remnants of the dream clung to her. Pulling the blanket tighter around her form, she found herself wishing that she was lying next to Ferrous. She heard a faint noise from the windowsill, but paid it no mind. It was probably either Wolfe or Star, checking up on the younger students. After calming her whirling thoughts, she laid her head down on the bed and fell asleep once more.

When she awoke, her gaze was drawn to the windowsill. Upon it sat a gray rose, almost silver in the rising sun. She smiled softly and thought to herself, _I really am falling in love with him. And he's already in love with me, that's for sure._ She giggled to herself as she thought of how many times he had tried to talk to her. _He is pretty cute. _She got off the bed and stretched out, extending her claws out in front of her. Once her muscles loosened up, she walked out into the hallway and noticed that Ferrous's door was open slightly. Curious, she stalked over and quietly stepped through the doorway. Ferrous was sprawled out on the bed comically, his cover hanging off of it and onto the floor. She looked around the slowly brightening room and saw a small row of the gray roses in one corner. She smiled and backed out of the room, closing the door silently behind her. She turned around to find Star watching her and she blushed. Star simply grinned and walked past her, humming a soft tune. Emmaire padded down the hallway towards the dining room for a quick breakfast before going to the Guardians for her training assignment.

Back in Ferrous's room, the earth dragon rolled onto the floor and strode to the door. He watched as Emmaire walked down the hallway and ran to catch up with her. He got to her side and smiled in greeting. "Good morning Emmaire."

She turned and smiled back. "Oh, hi Ferrous. Do you want to come with me to breakfast?"

He nodded. "Of course!"

They sat together and passed the time after breakfast with idle conversation, discussing the weather yesterday and such. "We should probably get to Terrador; it's his turn to give us an assignment." She agreed and they departed from the dining hall.

They entered the training arena and found Terrador standing before Flame, Ember, Wolfe, and Star already. They took their places; Ferrous next to Flame and Emmaire next to Star.

"Now that everyone is here, I shall give each of you your assignments," Terrador rumbled with a smile. "Now, I've heard that the boys enjoy their sparring fights, and so does Star," the gold dragoness grinned, "so today will be another day of training fights. Star, will be paired up with Emmaire first. Then Flame and Ember. And last will be Wolfe and Ferrous."

With the pairings announced, The dragons who weren't first flew to one of the overlooking balconies. Below them, the two dragonesses circled each other with their wings low to the ground.

Star initiated the combat by launching a yellow fireball at the ice dragoness. Emmaire shot an ice bullet to stop it and leapt forward into the air, raining ice down upon her opponent. Star raised her body temperature and melted the ice before it touched her. Keeping on the offensive, Emmaire circled her opponent in the air, sending multiple ice bullets cascading down onto the golden dragoness. Star dodged each one and launched a ball of light to intercept Emmaire's flight. Closing her eyes, Emmaire began to roll in mid flight, spinning a thin barrier of water around her body. The ball of light glanced off the water shield and smashed against the wall. She altered her course and dove straight at Star. Just before they collided, Emmaire halted her spin and blew out a fine mist of ice, freezing all before her. Star raised an earth shield just in time and the rocks blocked the ice. She blasted the rocks out from the shield and one of them clipped Emmaire's wing, twisting her sideways and sending pain shooting down her side. Star sprang forward and swung a fist at the ice dragoness. Waiting until the last possible second, Emmaire whipped her tail right behind her fist. She connected with Star's side and the golden dragoness fell, allowing Emmaire to place an ice bladed tail to her neck in victory.

Emmaire helped Star back to her feet and gave a weak smile. "That was fun…"

Star nodded. "It sure was, I never saw that coming."

They flew to the balcony to join the others as Flame and Ember dropped to the floor to take their place. Ferrous ran over to Emmaire. "That was quite a fight! Is your wing alright?"

She folded the limb to her side and smiled. "I'll be fine, don't worry. "

Star stepped over to Wolfe and the black dragon kissed her on the cheek. "It's okay, love. You can't win 'em all."

She nuzzled his neck and laughed. "I'm not disappointed, Wolfie. That was a lot of fun."

They returned their attention to the arena below and saw Flame pinned by Ember with a goofy grin on his face. Ferrous called out. "Come on ya big wuss! Just because she's your girlfriend doesn't mean you have to let her win!"

Flame just kept the strange grin on his face as they flew up to the overlook.

Wolfe flew down to take his place on the battle floor and Ferrous leapt down opposite him. "You wanna make this quick or do you want to drag it out?" Wolfe let a devilish smile creep across his features.

Ferrous growled at him. "Give me your best shot."

Wolfe laughed and leapt forward, claws extended for a brutal slash. Ferrous dove beneath the attack and fired an earth bomb straight into Wolfe's underbelly, sending the black dragon flipping through the air. "Nice move!" Still laughing, Wolfe flowed from the flip into a mid air roll and loosed a bolt of black lightning as he leveled out. Ferrous raised a rock from the ground to intercept the bolt and he dashed forward again, landing a crushing blow from his tail to Wolfe's hind leg. Wolfe was thrown to the ground and slid to a stop against the wall. "Ouch, that one kinda hurt a little." He released a maelstrom of wind from his wings, buffeting the earth dragon back further from his opponent. Rolling himself into an earth boulder, Ferrous cut through the wind and smashed into the source of it. It looked like a finishing blow as the boulder crashed into the wall and created a large dust cloud. As the dust cleared, the observers saw Ferrous standing in the center of the arena with his eyes closed, trying to find Wolfe with his powers. Then suddenly, Ferrous was knocked over onto his back and he found Wolfe's tail blade pressed against his throat. "Gotcha!" Ferrous growled in defiance.

"Are ya sure?" A pillar of earth launched Wolfe into the air and Ferrous leapt above him, summoning an earth flail and swinging it through the air at Wolfe.

"Damn!" Wolfe's eyes flashed once and he summoned a shadow of himself to appear just in front of him. He twisted around and bolted behind Ferrous with unthinkable speed. He clenched a fist and so did the shadow, both of them landing a blow to the earth dragon at the same time, making the flail disappear and driving the air out of his lungs. He dropped to the ground and struggle to take a breath. As soon as he inhaled, he was pinned by a dark mist. "That was good, Ferrous. You almost got me. If I hadn't pulled out my ace, then I would have been done for." The mist dissipated and Ferrous rolled to his feet.

"Man, I thought I had you beat there at the end. What was that?" Ferrous launched up to the balcony right behind Wolfe.

The black dragon smiled and a perfect copy of himself appeared beside him. "It's a shadow image. Copies my movements and still packs quite a punch."

Ferrous winced and rubbed his chest. "Don't I know it. That's quite a trick."

"Well I was hoping to keep it a secret from Star, but now I guess I have to show her how to do it." He turned to the gold dragoness, who walked up to him and planted a kiss on his lips.

"Yes you do have to now. That's too bad." She giggled.

Emmaire came up beside Ferrous and nudged his wing. He turned to look into her dark blue eyes. "Come on, let's go to the garden," she whispered.

He nodded and they excused themselves. As they walked down the corridor to the outdoor garden, Ferrous extended his wing over her.

They strode into the lush environment and Emmaire motioned over towards a tree with her head. They made their way over and sat down in the shade of the foliage. She rubbed her nose along Ferrous's neck, making him smile down at her.

Ferrous once again struggled against himself to admit his feelings. His courage eventually came to him and he pulled the ice dragoness closer to him. "Emmaire, I need to talk to you."

Her heart beat faster. _Maybe he will. Oh, Ancestors please let it be so._ "Yes, Ferrous, what is it?"

He spoke softly but firmly. "I've been thinking it over and everything that comes to me points to one thing. You. To put it bluntly, I'm in love with you." He sighed. "I tried for so long to get your attention but I never could get a word in before you walked away. I felt like such a fool to moon after you like that, but I couldn't help it. Then yesterday; I wasn't sure whether that was just you or if Master Cyril put you up to it to cheer me up. But I loved the time we spent together. And now I-" His words stopped and his eyes grew wide as Emmaire pressed her lips against his. When she pulled away, he nearly fell over. His shock was tangible as she smiled warmly back at him. "Em… wha… but you… I mean…"

She kissed him again to quiet his incomplete remarks. "You don't need to say anything more. I love you too. I wasn't sure until just now, but it's true. The flower this morning was what really did it though. That was so sweet."

"I'm glad you liked it. I made it myself, just for you. Terrador showed me how." He wrapped his tail around hers and she sighed at the feeling.

Yawning, Ferrous lay down on his back against the trunk of the tree and lay down on her side, placing her head on his chest. Worn out from their individual fights, they fell asleep together for the first time.


	3. Chapter 3

**Here's the next chapter, ain't got much to say about it. Thanks goes out to RedDragonx for working with me on this one. Enjoy it cuz I might not get the next one out soon, lot of stuff I'm working on. R&R**

Ferrous awoke a few hours later with Emmaire still lying with her head on his chest. He sighed and ran his paw across her back, smiling down on the ice dragoness. It was like he was in a dream, with her lying against him like this. He wrapped his wing around her form and pulled her a little closer, feeling her shiver at the touch. She awoke and gazed up at him, staring into his green eyes. They sparkled with love and she giggled.

"What's so funny Em?" he asked quietly.

"Your eyes are so pretty…" he blushed at the compliment.

"Not as pretty as you, though…" He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. "You are the most beautiful dragoness in existence, and you're all mine."

"Always and forever, Ferrous." They sat there for a while longer until they heard something from outside the walls of the garden. The noise was a dull, throbbing sound that seemed to resonate from the ground beneath their feet. "What was that?" Emmaire asked as she stood.

Ferrous also rose and he shook his head. "I don't know. But it doesn't sound good. Stay here, I'm going to check it out."

Emmaire nodded as he flew over and perched atop the wall running around the edge of the garden. After a few moments he grew stiff and returned to her. Wide green orbs told the story as he spoke rapidly. "We have to go to the Guardians, now! There was an army out there!"

Her eyes grew in fright. "An army? What are we gonna do?"

He rested his wing upon snowy white scales and guided her back towards the entrance of the Temple swiftly. "We need to tell Ignitus right away. Come on, follow me." They ran through the temple to the center meeting room, where the Guardians were already gathered. The two dragons ran into the room and slid to a stop in front of the fire Guardian. "Ignitus!" Ferrous began. "I just saw a giant army marching towards the temple with a terrifying creature leading them. What should we do?"

"Young dragons, you need to go with Wolfe to Warfang. We shall stay with the warriors and try to hold them off." Ignitus stepped aside to show the slightly smaller black dragon behind him.

Wolfe walked forward with a serious expression. "We have to move, fast. They are moving quickly and there's more than one general with them, plus one of them is almost here. Ferrous, go and find Flame. Emmaire, Ember is in the courtyard, and I need you to get her. Meet me and Star in the garden."

They nodded and turned back out of the room. Ferrous nuzzled the ice dragoness. "Be careful Emmaire."

"I will."

They pulled apart and went separate ways, each searching for their respective targets. Ferrous ran to the fire dragon's room and found him lying on his bed with a brown book in front of him. He yawned and closed the book to look up at the earth dragon. "Hey, what's up Ferrous?"

Ferrous motioned him out of the room. "The temple is about to be attacked. We're getting out of here. Come on."

Flame nodded before jumping downwards; following Ferrous out into the garden. Once they got arrived, they found Wolfe, Star, and Ember waiting patiently for their return. Ferrous glanced around but did not see the ice dragoness he loved among the others. "Where's Emmaire?" Ember looked up at him with a sad expression. "You mean, she didn't go to you?"

Ferrous had a look of horror flash across his face. "I have to find her!" He turned and bolted out the door, dashing through the temple as quickly as he was capable of. Hot tears streamed forth from his eyes as he careened down the winding corridors. He kept his wings low to the ground; pushing the muscles within his legs to their limits. Explosions lit up the dimming sky outside the occasional window as his mind raced faster than his feet. _Where is she? _He whipped around a corner and into her room. "Emmaire, where are you?" he called out. She wasn't there, which disturbed him. He continued his frenzied flight through the darkening corridors to the courtyard, finding himself thinking back to the dream he had the previous day. _Ancestors, please don't let that happen._ He halted at the entrance to the courtyard and found himself frozen in terror. Just like his dream, there was a terrifying creature holding the limp form of the ice dragoness in its furred paw.

The creature appeared to be a wolf, but stood nine feet high and had a pair of monstrous brown feathered wings folded behind its upright form. An evil smile appeared on its lips, the razor sharp fangs flashing in the dangerous glow of multiple fires. Upon noticing Ferrous, the fangs parted in a laugh; a cruel male voice stabbing the cold dagger of fear deep within the earth dragon's heart. But as the creature tossed Emmaire behind him against the wall, Ferrous's fury began to rise, erasing all fear from his thoughts. Suddenly, a black object flew past him and a ball of bright orange fire appeared between Ferrous and the creature. Wolfe's voice rang out against the harsh noise of the approaching army.

"Ferrous! Grab Emmaire and let's go!"

The earth dragon dashed forward to lift Emmaire onto his back, steadying her with his wings. "Don't worry Em," he whispered. "I've got you now." He ran back to the entrance and yelled to Wolfe. "Come on! I have her!"

Wolfe nodded and jumped backwards, throwing a vicious maelstrom of wind from his wings. The creature roared in anger as it sailed through the air, colliding with the stone wall moments later. It quickly got up as Wolfe turned away and called out, "Star, go for it!"

Ferrous turned his head away from the courtyard as a blinding flash of light erupted in the air around the creature's head. The young dragons took advantage of the opportunity to escape down the winding halls. They made their way back to the garden and Wolfe slid to a stop in front of Flame, waving Ferrous over.

The black dragon stood up on his hind legs and picked Emmaire off of Ferrous's back. "I'm stronger than you, and you can't carry her on your back when you're flying. I'll take her to Warfang." He flashed the earth dragon a quick grin. "I'll be extra careful with her, don't worry." Ferrous gave him a silent nod and all five young dragons took to the sky; Wolfe carrying Emmaire in his forearms.

It took all night but they finally reached the city of Warfang. The night air was frigid in the mid autumn weather and the horizon was glowing with vague hints of the impending dawn. They touched down on the cold cobblestone street; Wolfe immediately departing with Emmaire towards a nearby inn with the others following closely behind. The receptionist recognized him and smiled. "Welcome, Wolfe. Your rooms are upstairs, just as you left them. Have a nice stay!" It was obvious that she wasn't aware of the battle raging at the temple. Wolfe gave a soft grunt of acknowledgement and continued up the stairs and to the end of the hallway. Star nudged open a door for him and he stepped inside to lay Emmaire on the bed within. Flame and Ember took the room across the hallway, while Wolf departed for his own resting place quietly. Just before leaving Ferrous alone with the ice dragoness, she nuzzled him in comfort. "She'll be fine, Ferrous. I promise." With that, she closed the door behind her, leaving him in total silence. He crawled onto the bed beside his love and sat over her, gazing into her closed eyes and finding the smallest bit of peace in watching her. Words once again leapt unbidden to his lips and he began to speak, tears forming in his eyes and falling freely onto her chest.

"Everything is fading

Depression setting in

Darkness is surrounding me

I am left with nothing.

But even in this place

Desperate and alone

I can feel her presence rising

Curing my sick soul.

I lift my head and wonder

What this feeling could be

This sense of hope and peace

That's welling up in me.

'Don't you cry' I hear her voice

'Don't give it all up now

My love will always be with you

It doesn't matter how.'

I rise back to my feet

My tears are flowing still

And though my sadness hasn't changed

My thoughts and feelings will.

Now my heart is still in shambles

My situation stays the same

But with a memory of her light

I can live again."

His words faded into the silence, leaving a half-hearted smile upon his features. He lay down beside her, resting his head on her neck. He could hear her heart beating beneath her frosty white scales and the sound soothed his sorrow, allowing him to breathe easier. Ferrous covered her with his wing before running his paw across her side lovingly. He felt a slight shiver from her, and then a small cough. He jolted upright to see her eyes open and a soft smile on her face. His tears began anew and he collapsed against her, sobbing gently into her shoulder. "I thought I had lost you."

She felt water well up in her own eyes and stroked the back of his head tenderly. "I would never leave you like that," she cooed to him, trying to calm him before she lost control as well. She lifted his muzzle with her wing, still trying to stop his tears. An idea flitted through her mind and she brought her lips to his; her heart simply melting as they touched. The sensation of them pressed together was beyond comparison to anything she had ever felt before. Ferrous's eyes grew at first but then he squeezed them shut, the tears disappearing instantly from the green orbs.

After a few moments holding the kiss, he pulled away with a soft growl of approval. "Em…I love you so much. I'm sorry I was like that before. I just don't know what I'd do without you."

She rubbed her nose against his. "You don't need to apologize, I would have done the same…" A sly smile danced around the corners of her mouth. "Though I wouldn't have thought of the poem."

"You heard that?" He stepped back a little, allowing her to roll to her paws and pad towards him on the bed.

"I did…it was the most romantic thing anyone has ever said…if not a little depressing." His eyes dropped but she quickly kissed him again to bring a smile to his face. "It was sweet though. Thank you."

They sighed and lay down on the bed, the ice dragoness rolling over and scooting up into the crevice of Ferrous's body. He nipped playfully at her neck and curled his paws over the dragoness's form, resting them upon her stomach. He rubbed it sensuously and licked her cheek, eliciting a giggle from the dragoness lying in the curve of his frame. Ferrous felt her snuggle up closer to him and he dropped his paw to rest just below her belly, causing her to shiver before lying still against him. He sensed that she was tired, so he wrapped his wings around her and whispered, "Sleep now, my sweet love. We both need our rest. Be at peace, I am here now and I will never do anything that will make me leave your side. End of story." He rubbed his rough scaled cheek against hers, growling gently at his lover as she drifted towards sleep.

She answered with a playful murr of her own. "I love you, sleep tight."

"I will…" he murmured to himself as she clamped her paws down on his, holding them in place. He realized exactly where she had kept them resting and he laid his head down on her neck. "Good night, my love." were the last words from his mouth before he slipped into the void of slumber.

Emmaire awoke moments before her love and she still felt his paws just above her most sacred part, shivering slightly at the thought of the dragon behind her being that close. She felt him shift behind her and she smiled to herself at what she knew he would say.

Following her expectations, he lightly kneaded his paws, massaging her scales. "Mmmm…. I'm liking you more and more every morning, love." He inched his paws lower until she slapped them with a giggle.

"Not so fast, my dragon. I'm still tired," she lied.

He smirked, seeing through the lie, but deciding to play along. "Well then, what am I to do? I'm not tired anymore. If you're asleep, then I'll have no one to talk to and my mind may wander…" Emmaire shuddered when he whispered that last line quietly into her ear, his voice dripping with lust. She rolled over in his arms, drawing a groan of disappointment as his paws were removed from where they had been resting before. She smiled and pressed her body closer up against his. Her smile was soft and her eyes shined with happiness.

Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her chest, causing her to cry out in agony. The dragoness clasped her paw over her breast, squirming around forcefully on the bed. Startled, Ferrous leapt to his feet and growled, his eyes roving over the room for what might have possibly caused the one he loved so much hurt. Seeing nothing, he turned his gaze back to Emmaire, who had stopped writhing about and sat still on her haunches, her chest heaving with her heavy breaths. The door burst open and both Wolfe and Star rushed into the room.

"What happened? We heard her yell and we thought…" Star walked up to Emmaire and laid her tail on the dragoness's chest. The tip began to glow white and a soothing energy ran from it into Emmaire's body. "Whatever it was, it's gone now. It seemed that you suffered some internal injuries yesterday. Luckily, I was able to heal them." She smiled. "A talent I picked up after seeing Wolfe get hurt so much." The two turned their backs and strode out of the room. "It's not quite time to go out yet, try to get some more rest." Their tails intertwined as the door was closed behind them. Ferrous tried to make himself comfortable next to his dragoness, but to no avail. Emmaire noticed this and rolled back into her previous position, pulling his paws back above her precious area. This did calm him down immensely, but his mind still raced. He laid his head down against her shoulder and accidentally let a whimper escape his muzzle. She leaned down and kissed the top of his head.

"Can't you just relax? I'm right here Ferrous. I'm waiting for you." Those last four words brought him out of his depression in less than a second and he nibbled gently on her neck, making her moan softly at the feeling. "I see I found what you wanted."

"No…_I_ found what I wanted. And she's right here in my paws." He massaged her belly and slowly moved his paws downwards. "It's gonna be a long morning, my dear dragoness. Are you ready?" She looked into his eyes and nodded.

"I love you too much not to be."

**Hope you liked it, I might be including them in another story of mine that I'm beginning to work on, haven't thought of a name for it yet but it's partly Spyro… well until next chapter,**

**Laters!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A long overdue chapter update, but here it is. i stayed up late again, just for you people, so BE HAPPY! grrr if you don't be happy, then i'll pull your arms off. and beat you with them. so be happy! :D i mean it. ENJOY! R&R!**

Ferrous sighed as he felt Emmaire's breathing move her chest against his side, the ice dragoness sleeping beside him with her head resting on his neck. The earth dragon turned his eyes down upon her peaceful form, immense pride and love welling up within him as he watched her sleep. She made a subtle shift into a more comfortable position and smiled in her slumber at whatever was prancing about in her dreams. The earth dragon could only guess what it was that was entertaining his love so.

Once more, Emmaire shifted slightly, this time coming back into the waking world. She groaned once before lifting her eyelids and staring up at her lover. Their eyes met and both smiled, thoughts drifting back to the night before. Ferrous spoke first, his voice soft and soothing. "How do you feel, my lovely dragoness?"

Emmaire uncurled herself in the curve of the earth dragon's frame and brought his paws around her body to sit just below her belly. Ferrous growled softly in approval and kissed her gently on the cheek. She giggled before leaning her head back so he could access her lips. The silvery dragon noticed this and complied with the subliminal message by placing his lips firmly against the ice dragoness's, both losing themselves in the contact. They pulled away, both in need of air but not wanting to end the touch. Emmaire drew in a deep breath and exhaled a soft hiss of cool vapor upon her love, making him shiver and wrap his wings around the snowy white scales of his love. She smiled and replaced her head on Ferrous's chest, sighing softly in remembrance of the night before. "Ferrous, my love, after that, how could I be anything other than glorious? That was the best night of my life."

The earth dragon massaged her scales lightly and kissed her again. "Don't worry, dear one, there is better to come. We can be together every night, for the rest of our lives….my mate."

That final phrase sent shivers of pleasure racing down her spine. _Mates…Ancestors, thank you._ She snuggled up closer against her lover's chest, letting the steady rhythm of his breathing and his warmth instill peace into her. For the first time in her life, here in this dragon's arms and in his love, she was home.

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Sunlight glistened on the brilliant silver scales of Ferrous as the warming rays streamed through the window. He stirred ever so slightly, just to shift his head away from the glaring light of the sun, but the faint movement woke his lover, who had fallen asleep in his arms. Emmaire groaned softly, twisting her neck to look into her dragon's emerald eyes. "Good morning, my mate." Peace radiated through her with the utterance of the word "mate." It was so binding, so meaningful, and the ice dragoness loved that she could now call her love, mate.

Ferrous smiled and pressed his lips to her forehead. "Good morning, Em. How did you sleep?"

Emmaire sighed and she placed her paws atop her dragon's. "Heavenly, love. You make a great blanket, you know." She giggled as he wrapped his wings around her, kissing her along her neck.

"I'm sure. And you make a great pillow." He smiled at her as she squirmed in his embrace, making herself more comfortable. As they lay there, their door opened and Star stood in the doorway, a grin appeared on her muzzle at the two dragons within.

"Come on, you two. We got to get going, Wolfe already left with Flame to meet a contact of Hunter's so we need to be going." Star closed the door again, leaving them with a few minutes to get ready.

Emmaire reluctantly left her dragon's embrace and dropped to the floor. Ferrous followed her example and left the warmth of their bed to stand on the floor. The earth dragon stretched his wing over the delicate form of his ice dragoness and they walked to the door, Ferrous pushing it open with his snout. Star and Ember stood waiting for them in the hallway. Both gave the two a knowing smile, star starting forward down the hall to a set of stairs. The four dragons descended the stairs and exited the inn onto the streets of the city.

Star led them on a winding path, navigating through the crowded streets with a practiced ease that fit her confident stride. After a few minutes, Ferrous was able to pick Wolfe's gleaming black scales from one particularly large crowd and he saw the dragon weaving through the mass of bodies to a side street; one that was nearly empty. Star guided them across the packed plaza and into the abandoned alley. Once there, she ran forward and kissed Wolfe on the cheek.

"What did you find out, Wolfie?" She queried.

Wolfe smiled and ran his nose along her muzzle. "It seems that Malefor's forces have withdrawn from the temple. They disappeared into the swamps and not a single ape has been seen or heard since. It's safe to go back to the temple again."

Flame stepped out from behind Wolfe and Ember rushed to his side. He sighed as she pressed against his side, pulling her closer with his wing as he spoke. "Hunter said that he would get tow of his friends to escort us back to the temple, and we were to meet them at the gate to the city in ten minutes. Let's go!"

With their party reunited, they took to the air, soaring over the crowds gathered in the streets. They quickly moved across the open sky and dove down to land in front of a large, rod iron gate. Two figures materialized out of the shadows, both wearing long hooded cloaks. One was around Hunter's height, while the other towered over them all at around seven feet tall. As the dragons approached them, the tall one seemed to shrink, his height diminishing until he stood even with the other. The first one threw back his hood to reveal that he was, as Hunter was, a cheetah. The second removed his hood to show that he was a creature that Ferrous had not seen before. His face was that of a wolf, but there was something different about him.

Wolfe however, smiled wide at this strange creature. "Alder! It's been a while, my friend. So Hunter convinced you to take this job?"

The wolf creature gave Wolfe a lopsided grin. "Wolfe! Hunter told me I was gonna be taking a few dragons back to the temple, he never mentioned you!" He turned to star and opened his arms wide. "And there she is! The always lovely Star. How are you little one?"

Star giggled. "I'm not little anymore Alder. But thank you, I'm doing great."

Alder noticed the other dragons and turned his odd grin to them. "And who might these young ones be?"

Wolfe also turned to them. "Well the two fire dragons are Flame and Ember, they're a year younger than us, and the other two are Ferrous and Emmaire. They're two years younger than us. Flame, Ember, Ferrous, Emmaire, meet my good friend, Alder Gres."

The strange being bowed to them. "It's a pleasure to meet you all. My associate here is Sem Frei. We should get moving, though. Daylight won't last forever you know!" He chuckled and elbowed Sem. "Come on" The two cloaked creatures turned and led them out of the city and into the wilderness. The walked for hours and soon the sun was brushing against the horizon. Alder held up a hand and the group halted in the dip of a small valley.

"Let's stop here for the night, I know a friendly otter in these parts and I'm gonna pay him a quick visit to see if he'll join us. Sem, I'm trusting you to keep a lookout until I return."

The cheetah responded with a curt nod and he vanished up the hill beside him. Alder left in the opposite direction and the dragons found themselves alone. Wolfe dropped to his belly and Star lay against his chest. Flame pulled Ember closer and they lay down together as well. Ferrous curled around Emmaire and he growled softly at the feel of her against him.

The earth dragon felt his eyes grow heavy and he laid his head over his dragoness's neck, falling into a light sleep.

An ear splitting roar awakened him from his slumber and his eyes shot open. Sem came dashing down the hill, yelling, "Get up! All of you! You need to leave, now. Go!" The six dragons jumped to their paws as a large creature thundered over the peak of the hill Sem had just ran down. Ferrous's eyes widened in shock. It was the creature that had hurt Emmaire at the temple.

Ferrous made sure that Emmaire had gotten up and he nudged her forward, all of them rushing away from the creature. When they reached the top of the hill, Wolfe turned back and saw that Sem did not follow. The cheetah waved at him, urging the dragon to leave. "Go! I'll keep him busy!"

As they flew across the rolling plains, the dying scream of a creature echoes from behind them and they soon came across Alder and another creature. Alder ran up to them.

"What happened?" Alder knelt down in front of Wolfe and grabbed the dragon by the shoulders. "What was that scream?"

Wolfe glanced back to where they had come from. "Alder, we were ambushed by him. Sem stayed behind to hold him off. I'm sorry."

Alder's expression became one of sorrow, and he stood again, a tear dropping from his muzzle. The other creature, an otter, walked to his side and clasped his shoulder knowingly. "He gave it willingly, my friend. He died with honor."

Alder nodded, patting the otter on the back. "I know Scrade, I will always remember him. Come, we must hurry. We need to leave before he finds us-" His words were cut off by another thunderous roar. Scrade stepped in front of them, placing himself between the vicious assailant and the dragons. He turned towards them and flashed them a smile as lines of runes running down his arms and back began to glow a deep forest green. "I got this, don't worry about me. I've dealt with him before, and he was the one with scars. Go Alder, you know he can't touch me."

Alder nodded and threw off his cloak, revealing silky black fur and midnight black feathered wings that flared out behind him. He spread them and pushed himself into the air, motioning for the dragons to follow him. They escaped over the hills, away from the temple and into the forest.

**Sorry, no poem this time. two new characters introduced, a lupogriff and an otter. Who are these creatures, What are those strange runes on Scrade? Why am i asking you all these things? I'M DAMN TIRED, SO GOODNIGHT!**

**Laters!**


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